DESCRIPTION (taken from applicant's abstract): The Internet Access for Rural Health Professionals project aims to provide local dial tone access to the Internet. This will be accomplished by linking four rural hospitals by way of frame relay lines to the existing Internet backbone at the Fayetteville AHEC. Each site will additionally be equipped with telecommunications equipment to enable isolated rural health professionals to dial into the Internet via modem. The Fayetteville AHEC s existing link to the Internet will be upgraded to a T1 to accommodate the increased traffic from these new connections. In addition to providing a local Internet connection, the project will train healthcare professionals in the use and benefits of these connections for information access. The specific aims of the project are to: provide easy low cost access to Internet-based resources; provide the opportunity to experiment and experience the usefulness of the Internet for education, research and clinical services; provide access to information and library resources through the National Library of Medicine, the FAHEC library, the North Carolina institutions of higher learning and other appropriate Internet resources; and train health care providers about the general concepts, tools and navigation skills necessary for successful use of the Internet